Timetable updates

Venue change in Westport - meetings will now be held at Westport South School, Derby St

A meeting in Rolleston was incorrectly listed as Thursday 20th - this is actually Tuesday 20th.

Why we're having these meetings

Our children go to school to learn the critical skills and abilities they need to grow up happy and productive in the 21st century. But right now children are missing out. Teachers and principals are being bogged down in administration, and struggle to get support for children with additional learning needs. And to make matters worse, there's a shortage of teachers, particularly in areas that are expensive to live in.

We can turn this around. We can free teachers to teach and principals to lead, by providing the additional support and staff that schools need. And we'll attract more people to teaching by respecting them and paying them as the professionals they are.

At these meetings we'll be talking about what's at stake, and deciding how to proceed during our collective bargaining campaign.

About paid union meetings

NZEI members discuss issues and conduct votes at paid union meetings (PUMs). NZEI staff and local delegates will run a PUM for each area. They will usually discuss what has been happening, pass out any necessary information, and ask members if they have any questions. If you need to vote, this will be done with a show of hands or written vote.

Good to know

As a union member, you are entitled to attend at least two paid union meetings per year.

If you'd normally be working while the paid union meeting is on, you are entitled to be paid up to 2 hours of your ordinary pay. But if you attend a meeting outside of your normal work hours, then you can't claim pay for that time.

Sign in to the meeting as you arrive so that there's proof you attended. Without that proof, you cannot be paid for the time at the meeting.

The two hours includes time to travel to and from the meeting. We try to keep our meetings to one hour - this gives you thirty minutes either side to get to and from work. Some branches and area councils organise transport to Check with your local branch to see if they'll help arrange transport.

Your school must remain open during paid union meetings, so schools and NZEI will make arrangements to make sure that schools don't need to close. In some cases this may mean some union members need to stay at school. Deciding who needs to stay behind should be the members' choice, not the employer's.

Non-members are not entitled to attend. If you want to be a part of this discussion, it only takes a few minutes to join up. You need to be a full (financial) member on the day of the PUM, or your pay may be docked.